Just because I express a view which might be a bit different to that held by Mr Craig and “Bromley Resident” (not a Lewisham Resident, I note) does not mean I need to be moved into the box marked “enemy” and condemned accordingly. That response is as objectionable as the unpleasant posting from “I don’t like Ian Anstice”.

And, in any case, Mr Craig didn’t actually read my posting before posting his, obviously. If he had done, he would have noted that I do not agree with the cuts – in fact, I oppose them. However, I posted that without a change in the policy of the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties, there will be cuts. I am merely observing that this is the hand that local councillors have been dealt and that in light of this the “not a single library must close” is a completely unsustainable argument.

Not that Mr Craig picked up that part of my posting, he was too busy making incorrect assumptions and engage in playground abuse.

– As for SE London resident – any chance you’re a councillor in Lewisham? I’d hardly describe the remaining Lewisham service as excellent either. For instance those in Sydenham or Crofton Park are now miles from their nearest library. Manor House is relatively small and I always need to order books in from boroughs like Redbridge. Downham, despite costing thousands, again doesn’t have much in terms of book selection either, and make things worse there is no study space in there as such. Lewisham didn’t consider many options either – it was shut 5 or 0. Why not follow the tracks of Camden and close a few (eg Grove Park needed closing) and cut the excessive opening of Downham as well? Deliberately Poor decisions made by councillors only interested in protecting Miliband and the rest of the Labour Party.

– I’d hardly call this silly either. People should be questioning the motions of councils when they are spending my (and other taxpayers’) money. It’s called a democracy.

The reasons for closing libraries are varied and need to be considered on a case by case basis before unthinking posting of stories about libraries. There is a very good reason for the former Blackheath Library to be closed. It was a commercial premises on which the council were paying a huge rent. Given the proximity of excellent other libraries, you could see a case for the closure of this library even without the need to save money.

The issue in Lewisham is that the story of what is happening here is refracted through the prism of one or two very high profile local campaigners who do not engage with the realities of the local situation, but who have either prominent local blogs and in many cases the national press on their side. Thus, sensible debate about local realities becomes almost impossible.

Sadly, the national debate about libraries is just a bigger version of this. The “every library closure is bad” response, which is nothing more than an agglomeration of myriad local campaigns, ignores the reality that councils just don’t have the money to keep facilities open, and have to face hard choices about what services they shut and what they retain.

Where councils try to overcome the funding shortage through a different way of doing the business, be it voluntary libraries or outsourcing or whatever, these approaches are dismissed out of hand by library campaigners who call instead for the status quo ante, failing to recognise that the cuts they oppose simply happen to other services. Some of those other cuts will fall on services that vulnerable people rely on. It is actually not easy to close a library, as the experience of Suffolk or Somerset has shown. People think libraries are a soft option. They’re not. Vocal middle class campaigners appear at every turn. They fund court cases. They have friends in the culture pages of newspapers.

On the other hand, it’s very easy to reduce domiciliary care. It’s very easy not to refurbish the playground. it’s very easy not to resurface the side roads. It’s easy to leave the grafitti on the walls.

Why don’t library campaigners accept this reality and try and help forge the solutions that might help libraries exist through the funding cuts? Why is every alternative dismissed out of hand?

Now, you might well retort that we should not accept the funding cuts, and I’d agree with you. They have plunged the nation back into recession. But the problem is this, every major party will introduce cuts.

So, do we fight the cuts (which isn’t really a libraries issue) or do we try and do something to keep our libraries open which might be this – we don’t fight the battles that are pointless but make us feel better, instead we find ways to make sure that we actually have libraries moving into the future.

That is great news that Blackheath Library is being refurbished – any more info on that would be appreciated. This whole blog won’t be so used if it shows just one side (hence pages on new libraries, investment etc). Any news you have, good or bad, is welcome. Direct personal insult, though, perhaps less so.

More of the same. While I don’t feel that cuts need to be made, cuts have to be made by councils because the government has cut their grants.

This means that they have to make tough decisions.

One of the tough decisions Lewisham had to make was which services to close. Yes, they shut Blackheath library, but the fact of the matter is that it was based in a commercial premises which meant they were shipping a ton of cash.

The other fact of the matter is that Blackheath library is a mere 15 minute walk or 25 minute bus trip from the recently refurbished Manor house library.

In any case, even considering the presence of alternative excellent libraries there is still a library facility of sorts at the Age Exchange.

Lewisham have done damn well considering the level of cut they have had to make, and simplistic, ill informed “oooh, look visits to Blackheath have gone down” stories do not even scratch the surface of the actual situation.

For those moaning –

Is the solution really that bad? Can you not get to Manor House (or even the Central Library) if the Age Exchange facility is not good enough for you?

Secondly, if the situation is that bad, can you suggest what you’d cut instead please? Schools, social services, parks, road repairs? What should Lewisham prioritise its 28% less money on to keep paying a commerical rent at the Blackheath library?